Modern businesses demand a strong online presence. A robust E-Commerce website not only helps you grow but also helps you gain the trust and recognition of your customers. By helping you provide the best customer sales service possible in 2024.
Using the right plugin can set you off on the right course to E-commerce success. Nothing happens overnight, so you should start using the right set of tools straight away.
With so many WordPress eCommerce plugins to choose from, it can be a very confusing situation for anyone. Which essential WordPress plugins should you opt-in for to start up your online store?
We understand the concerns and this is a legitimate hurdle most WordPress users go through when starting their online business.
Today we’ll try to help you find the best eCommerce platform for WordPress users that meets all the parameters that are required for setting up a functional eCommerce website.
When Choosing the Best WordPress eCommerce Plugin, There Are a Few Key Features that Should Be Taken Into Consideration:
WordPress for eCommerce is a booming industry with a bright potential future. And when used in conjunction with the top WordPress plugins. You can create outstanding user experiences.
Payment gateway: The plugin you’re considering opting for must have the ability to incorporate all the popular payment solutions that are in circulation. This helps your customers complete their checkout without any hassle.
Theme Compatibility: Whatever plugin you choose to opt-in for, it must be compatible with all the popular themes. Especially the one you are going to use in your brand new online shop. Nowadays, it’s pretty rare, but theme and plugin compatibility issues and conflicts can still arise.
Ease of Use: Usability is a neglected topic that should be considered when choosing an eCommerce platform. The tool you select should be easy to operate and manage for both you and your website moderation team.
On-Site Requirement: Does the plugin serve your requirements? For instance, if you’re selling digital goods and services such as eBooks. Then having an easy-to-use download manager and tracking feature would be beneficial for your business website.
Support: Support is another crucial part that makes a plugin great on WordPress. A WordPress plugin must be well supported by the development team. That provides users with constant feature and security updates and runs timely compatibility checks.
Review: Always go through user reviews for any SaaS product before installing it. User reviews are generally reliable sources of how well a WordPress plugin performs in daily practical usage. The higher the review, the more reliable the plugin is.
Here’s a List of the Most Popular WordPress E-commerce Plugins:
Now that we’ve gone over what to look for in a WordPress eCommerce plugin, let’s take a look at six of the best plugins available.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugins, with over 4 million active installs, and about 30% of all WordPress-powered E-commerce websites are built with WooCommerce.
This is the best free eCommerce solution for creating online shops of any size and category, from digital goods and services to clothing and groceries.
It’s a comprehensive plugin that includes everything you need to build your online stores, such as a shopping cart, payment gateway integration, and WooCommerce product management.
WordPress WooCommerce plugin is also scalable and secure, so it can grow with your business. And if you need help, WooCommerce offers excellent customer support.
Pros:
- WooCommerce is completely free!
- Integrated blogging functionality can help you get your website ranked faster.
- Easy product add menu.
- It is highly expandable with in-house and community-made extensions.
- Can handle heavy traffic thanks to WordPress.
Cons:
- It takes time to get used to all the menus and sub-menus.
- There are a lot of features that require additional plugins and extension support.
You can follow our recent post How to Add Products on WooCommerce website
ShopReady – WooCommerce Shop Builder for Elementor
ShopReady is a WooCommerce shop builder for Elementor. Although it requires WooCommerce as a base to work on, it significantly improves and expands upon WooCommerce’s basic functions and helps users easily create stunning, feature-packed online shop pages.
It includes everything you need to build a fully-functional online store in sizable modular widgets and larger functions in modules.
Including a Woocommerce shopping cart, quick view, product comparison, WooCommerce checkout page customization, quick checkout, variation switcher, and so much more.
ShopReady is easy to use, comes with excellent customer support, and has a ton of awesome preset content, templates, and demos.
Pros:
- 105+ E-Commerce functional widgets.
- Comprehensive and feature-packed entry-level plan.
- Modules that help you create specific pages and functions for E-commerce websites.
- Preset template library.
- Fully responsive, one-click import demos.
- SEO optimized.
- Well-priced multi-tier pricing.
- Elementor global settings.
- A great choice for creating a drop-shipping business.
- ShopReady has no transaction fees applied.
- No hidden charge.
Cons:
- This requires the main WooCommerce plugin to function.
Shopready Woocommerce Addon Free version Available in wordpress.org as well.
Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads is a popular WooCommerce alternative that is specifically designed and built for working with digital downloadable goods and services. This is a great option for those who are selling ebooks, stock images, videos, music, online comics, etc.
The plugin includes all the features required to run your online store efficiently, such as a shopping cart, payment gateway integration, and product management.
Easy Digital Downloads is also scalable, so it can handle increased traffic and transactions. Additionally, the plugin is secure and comes with excellent customer support.
Pros:
- The ability to add a payment system that allows you to integrate with all the popular payment vendors such as Paypal, GooglePay, Apple Pay, etc.
- Ability to create custom dashboards.
- Restful API enabled for getting detailed sales information.
- Download manager with tracking functionality.
Cons:
- Additional expenses for adding their in-house Advanced Reporting add-on.
- A complicated migration process from other plugins.
Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart
Ecwid is a popular e-commerce plugin that is known for its ease of use. Setting up an Ecwid store is quick and easy, and there is no need to edit any code.
The plugin includes all the features you need to run your online stores, such as a shopping cart, payment gateway integration, and product management. Ecwid is also scalable.
So, Ecwid can handle increased traffic and transactions. Plus, the plugin is secure and comes with excellent customer support.
Pros:
- Fairly generous free-to-use plan.
- Provides a simple way to add e-commerce functionality to an existing website.
- Point-of-sale functionality
- Very scalable in nature.
- Multi-language functions are supported.
- Add and maintain taxes.
Cons:
- Mobile support is only accessible on high-tier plans.
- SEO features require improvement.
- Limited number of apps and extensions.
BigCommerce for WordPress
BigCommerce for WordPress is directly integrated with their in-house BigCommerce engine. Which combines eCommerce platform flexibility.
Allowing millions of merchants, online shops, and vendors to utilize WordPress to expand and modify their e-commerce sites. With all the necessary functions to grow their businesses in 2024.
The plugin helps users improve their front-end experience, while the commerce engine handles the back-end functionalities.
It also helps you manage your catalog and orders, track shipments and order invoices, and conduct online transactions, among other things.
Pros:
- Comprehensive and feature-packed entry-level plan.
- Easy to set up stores in multiple currencies.
- No transaction fees are applied by BigCommerce.
- Easy to create custom e-commerce fields and blocks.
- Comprehensive SEO features.
Cons:
- The included free themes are generic.
- Limited typefaces.
- No RSS feed on the built-in blog.
Here is a helpful resource of plugins for the business directory listing website.
Shopping Cart and eCommerce Store by WP EasyCart
WP EasyCart is easily one of the most sophisticated Word[-Press eCommerce plugins with a spectacular interface. WP EasyCart features a detailed reporting system that allows you to see how your shop is functioning at a quick glance.
The plugin provides additional easy customization options for your reports to present the data the way you want it.
It provides users with a simple product add menu for creating new product entries. The plugin also includes features such as inventory management, automatic shipping calculations, tax calculator, checkout page, product view, and much more.
Pros:
- Supports a wide range of product types.
- Built-in diagnostic tools.
- Built-in order management system.
- A decent selection of built-in tools.
- Compatible with most themes.
Cons:
- It imposes a 2% fee per transaction.
- There’s no access to support on the free version.
ProductX – WooCommerce Gutenberg Blocks Plugin
ProductX is a comprehensive WooCommerce plugin that offers a wide range of features to enhance the design and functionality of your WooCommerce website.
Create Visually appealing and engaging WooCommerce store pages with ProductX. It comes with pre-made templates that you can use to create beautiful and engaging WooCommerce store pages. You can also design your own layouts using the drag-and-drop builder.
ProductX offers a variety of product blocks and features, such as grids, lists, sliders, quick view, product comparison, wishlists, and more.
It has advanced features, such as AJAX product search, product reviews, social sharing, and more.
ProductX is the perfect way to enhance the appearance and credibility of your WooCommerce store. With its wide range of features, you can create a store that is both visually appealing and functional.
ProductX is a great choice for anyone who wants to create a professional and high-converting WooCommerce store. With its wide range of features and customization options, you can create a store that meets your specific requirements.
Pros
- All-in-one solution for online WooCommerce store
- Tons of Product Block settings
- A vast library of pre-made patterns and readymade designs
- Advanced query builder and query sorting
- Integrated Google fonts
- Lots of customization options for each product block
- Regular updates
- No coding knowledge required
- Various pricing options and a money-back guarantee
Cons
- Limited starter packs and features in the free version.
ProductX WooCommerce Gutenberg Blocks free version is available on wordpress.org.
We’re Almost Done!
In this quick comparison between these highly reputed E-commerce plugins. We tried to show you the pros and cons of each of these plugins. To help you make an informed decision on which eCommerce plugin is right for your business.
We sincerely hope that this quick comparison guide has helped you understand what features you should look for in an eCommerce plugin.
Whichever essential plugin you choose to opt-in for, the plugin will help you with the content management system to establish an online store.